3 Tips for Effective Whiteboarding with A Team

“Whiteboarding” refers to having a large non-permanent space in your office used for the main purpose of throwing around ideas and structuring for an upcoming project. It is incredibly valuable in the initial planning stage when brainstorming is key. Whether you are working with your internal team or a larger client group, whiteboarding is a valuable tool for getting your team on the same page with a project. Here are three suggestions for making the most out of your time whiteboarding:

Whether you use a camera phone or store the photo in an app, taking a picture of the finished project is the best way to remember the ideas presented in the session. We suggest emailing a copy to every team member present during the session, or uploading to your company’s project management software.

Sticky Notes. Using sticky notes (PostIt’s) during your session is a great way to break off ideas and elaborate. This also gets your team engaged with the project and aids to visual learners.

You can engage your team by delegating a leader to guide the session, a note taker document the session and to photograph the finalized board, and a marker holder to write down the different ideas on the board. This helps keep the session on topic and gives an open environment for suggestions and teamwork.

The most important thing to remember during any brainstorming session is that no idea is a stupid idea. Shutting people down during a creative process can be detrimental to the project at hand. Remember to be open minded and accepting of all ideas- even if they don’t end up in the final project.